2Joe
If Wilds continues to have garbage tenderizing, anti-solo friendly grinding lands and other time wasting bullshit I am going... to be miffed
If Wilds has unskippable cutscenes, random decos and other time wasting bullshit I am going... to be miffed
2013
Plains of Eidolon and it's consequences have been a disaster for Digital Extremes
2023
Played on Ultra-Violence with continous play on GZDoom with freelook enabled.
Eviternity 1 was a landmark in doom mapping, in my eyes it's the closest we've gotten to a true spiritual successor to Scythe 2, a WAD that may be my favorite of all time, so the news of a sequel blew me away and made me giddy to see what Dragonfly and crew have cooked up this time but after finishing my feelings are incredibly conflicted.
Eviternity 2 feels bigger and badder as a sequel should with a new weapon and new enemies but their implementation is messy. The new weapon is incredibly powerful and a worthy reward for completing secret maps but if playing pistol start there aren't many instances where you'll be able to fully utlize it's strengths due to it being a secret map reward. Meanwhile the new enemies are a mixed bag with the new soldier and baron being scary foes while the necromancer and nightmare cacodemons being more annoying than fun to fight, especially in closed enviroments.
Themeing has also taken a small hit, areas still look gorgeous as ever with clever usage of OTEX textures but the concrete sites of episode 3 and partial repeat of Evi1's first episode in episode 4 have blurred together in my mind after completion. That said the revisit of the angelic theme as a opener instead of a closer was lovely to see and there are other highlights in the episode 2, 5 and the secret maps. What also doesn't help the themeing is the sense of progression with some episode finales feeling more like a middle chapter than a true end to it's episode, this is especially felt in episodes with a secret map prior to it's finale (E2/E6) or had a more grander map just before (E3/5).
I may sound incredibly harsh in this brief, messy write up but there is still lots to enjoy. The soundtrack is once again incredible and there are some truly great maps and encounters. I mainly wanted to highlight my issues as previously stated, Eviternity 2 left me conflicted in terms of how I felt in regards to the whole experience. That said I still recommend the WAD, there's a strong likelihood you'll enjoy it's experimental maps more than I did and hell, maybe on a replay I will enjoy it more as well but when compared to the original, Eviternity 2 is just good and not incredible.
Favorite Maps: 05, 08, 32, 14, 24
Least Favorite Maps: 33, 25, 30
Eviternity 1 was a landmark in doom mapping, in my eyes it's the closest we've gotten to a true spiritual successor to Scythe 2, a WAD that may be my favorite of all time, so the news of a sequel blew me away and made me giddy to see what Dragonfly and crew have cooked up this time but after finishing my feelings are incredibly conflicted.
Eviternity 2 feels bigger and badder as a sequel should with a new weapon and new enemies but their implementation is messy. The new weapon is incredibly powerful and a worthy reward for completing secret maps but if playing pistol start there aren't many instances where you'll be able to fully utlize it's strengths due to it being a secret map reward. Meanwhile the new enemies are a mixed bag with the new soldier and baron being scary foes while the necromancer and nightmare cacodemons being more annoying than fun to fight, especially in closed enviroments.
Themeing has also taken a small hit, areas still look gorgeous as ever with clever usage of OTEX textures but the concrete sites of episode 3 and partial repeat of Evi1's first episode in episode 4 have blurred together in my mind after completion. That said the revisit of the angelic theme as a opener instead of a closer was lovely to see and there are other highlights in the episode 2, 5 and the secret maps. What also doesn't help the themeing is the sense of progression with some episode finales feeling more like a middle chapter than a true end to it's episode, this is especially felt in episodes with a secret map prior to it's finale (E2/E6) or had a more grander map just before (E3/5).
I may sound incredibly harsh in this brief, messy write up but there is still lots to enjoy. The soundtrack is once again incredible and there are some truly great maps and encounters. I mainly wanted to highlight my issues as previously stated, Eviternity 2 left me conflicted in terms of how I felt in regards to the whole experience. That said I still recommend the WAD, there's a strong likelihood you'll enjoy it's experimental maps more than I did and hell, maybe on a replay I will enjoy it more as well but when compared to the original, Eviternity 2 is just good and not incredible.
Favorite Maps: 05, 08, 32, 14, 24
Least Favorite Maps: 33, 25, 30
2015
So good I 100%'d it twice and thought about doing it a third time! help me
This review contains spoilers
Kazuma Kiryu is dead,
The Yakuza are dead.
6 was a farewell to Kiryu but whether due to fear of losing their icon and uncertainty if their new dragon will resonate as much, or a feeling that prior conclusion just wasn't enough, Kiryu returned. Initially I was disappointed that they walked back after 6's emotional tale with an ending I adored and Kiwami 2, a re-visit of one of his greatest tales while introducing new substories that celebrated his character.
However his role in 7 renewed my trust that whatever RGG did with Kiryu post 6, it would be worth it and Gaiden cements that trust and only makes me more excited for Infinite Wealth.
Gaiden's story is one of denial, a tale about a man held by his own crafted leash. Kiryu's attempts of being free are pulled to reality early on and is especially shown when he ignores the order to kill Tsuruno. He denied an order and his punishment is not death but showing he lacks control, forcing him into a test and putting him onto a job he initially wanted no involvement of. But the leash does loosen, when luring Nishitani, he indulges in vices, finally enjoying a sense of freedom once locked away, showing power above someone once again.
Another aspect of denial I mulled over while playing is how Kiryu has been denied seeing the future of what he held close, his kids. This thought spurred over mentions of Kazama seen in a substory and one of Akame's drink links. Kazama was able to witness Kiryu's growth through the start of adulthood, walk his own path and while he wasn't alive to see him reach his status of 4th Chairman and all that came afterwrds, he helped paved the way for it. Kiryu has been denied the happiness of seeing his children grow into adults, obtain jobs, make their own mark... this thought was most constant when thinking about the game before completion but then I got to the conclusion.
Gaiden's ending is one part heart roaring brawl with Shishido, a character who's passion and drive are tragically too late to shine due to the death of Yakuza and one part bittersweet sadness with Kiryu being able to learn what futures his children obtained. Kiryu has made an impact on those he held close, he finally has that happiness he was denied... and it hurts. It hurts for he is unable to respond back to those thank yous for helping pave their own way.
So the story is pretty fucking good, the pacing is off in the first half especially with the amount of sidetracking and that can definitelly affect your overall enjoyment of the plot, it didn't mind me too much but I can see others being upset especially since Lost Judgment's Kaito Files was able to tell a smaller story without interruptions.
The combat is quite solid but unfortunately has downsides. Lost Judgment is easily the best combat system RGG has put out but unfortunately Gaiden feels more like it built upon Judgment than LJ's combat. Both games share the same issue of a noticable power inbalance between their two styles; a strong hard hitting single target style that can hold it's own as an all rounder and a crowd control focused style that is outshined in every aspect besides crowd control and even then it barely edges out in most combat scenarios.
This issue of imbalance is compounded with how weird Agent style's gadgets are, they have uses, definitely but their uses are limited and I fail to see useful applications of them during boss fights that are provide a sense of engagement. There is still fun to be had with the combat and while I'm not big on some design changes in regards to the Yakuza style, I can say it's an overall improvement over Kiryu's last action title, Kiwami 2. Thanks to the introduction of a second style, juggling that is similar to the Judgment titles and generally just feeling a tad bit more tighter and refined than before in some areas. Amon fight blows chunks though.
Gaiden is a very important chapter as it's not only the gameplay return of Kiryu but also the beginning of a new era for RGG. This is the first original title without Daisuke Sato and Toshihiro Nagoshi being apart of RGG Studios or even SEGA. Now a lot of the old guard are still around, people who have been apart of this series since 2005 but without Sato and Nagoshi's guidence, can this studio continue to thrive? Gaiden shows that yes, they absolutely can and 8 is already looking to show that they aren't holding back, proving to cement this already legendary series into a status that goes beyond that. Arguably this era began with Judgment/Y:LAD with the shifts they made but either way...
The Dragon of Dojima's leash has been loosened, he has a prolonged sense of freedom he has missed and I cannot wait to see what is in store for him and the koi who became his own dragon.
The Yakuza are dead.
6 was a farewell to Kiryu but whether due to fear of losing their icon and uncertainty if their new dragon will resonate as much, or a feeling that prior conclusion just wasn't enough, Kiryu returned. Initially I was disappointed that they walked back after 6's emotional tale with an ending I adored and Kiwami 2, a re-visit of one of his greatest tales while introducing new substories that celebrated his character.
However his role in 7 renewed my trust that whatever RGG did with Kiryu post 6, it would be worth it and Gaiden cements that trust and only makes me more excited for Infinite Wealth.
Gaiden's story is one of denial, a tale about a man held by his own crafted leash. Kiryu's attempts of being free are pulled to reality early on and is especially shown when he ignores the order to kill Tsuruno. He denied an order and his punishment is not death but showing he lacks control, forcing him into a test and putting him onto a job he initially wanted no involvement of. But the leash does loosen, when luring Nishitani, he indulges in vices, finally enjoying a sense of freedom once locked away, showing power above someone once again.
Another aspect of denial I mulled over while playing is how Kiryu has been denied seeing the future of what he held close, his kids. This thought spurred over mentions of Kazama seen in a substory and one of Akame's drink links. Kazama was able to witness Kiryu's growth through the start of adulthood, walk his own path and while he wasn't alive to see him reach his status of 4th Chairman and all that came afterwrds, he helped paved the way for it. Kiryu has been denied the happiness of seeing his children grow into adults, obtain jobs, make their own mark... this thought was most constant when thinking about the game before completion but then I got to the conclusion.
Gaiden's ending is one part heart roaring brawl with Shishido, a character who's passion and drive are tragically too late to shine due to the death of Yakuza and one part bittersweet sadness with Kiryu being able to learn what futures his children obtained. Kiryu has made an impact on those he held close, he finally has that happiness he was denied... and it hurts. It hurts for he is unable to respond back to those thank yous for helping pave their own way.
So the story is pretty fucking good, the pacing is off in the first half especially with the amount of sidetracking and that can definitelly affect your overall enjoyment of the plot, it didn't mind me too much but I can see others being upset especially since Lost Judgment's Kaito Files was able to tell a smaller story without interruptions.
The combat is quite solid but unfortunately has downsides. Lost Judgment is easily the best combat system RGG has put out but unfortunately Gaiden feels more like it built upon Judgment than LJ's combat. Both games share the same issue of a noticable power inbalance between their two styles; a strong hard hitting single target style that can hold it's own as an all rounder and a crowd control focused style that is outshined in every aspect besides crowd control and even then it barely edges out in most combat scenarios.
This issue of imbalance is compounded with how weird Agent style's gadgets are, they have uses, definitely but their uses are limited and I fail to see useful applications of them during boss fights that are provide a sense of engagement. There is still fun to be had with the combat and while I'm not big on some design changes in regards to the Yakuza style, I can say it's an overall improvement over Kiryu's last action title, Kiwami 2. Thanks to the introduction of a second style, juggling that is similar to the Judgment titles and generally just feeling a tad bit more tighter and refined than before in some areas. Amon fight blows chunks though.
Gaiden is a very important chapter as it's not only the gameplay return of Kiryu but also the beginning of a new era for RGG. This is the first original title without Daisuke Sato and Toshihiro Nagoshi being apart of RGG Studios or even SEGA. Now a lot of the old guard are still around, people who have been apart of this series since 2005 but without Sato and Nagoshi's guidence, can this studio continue to thrive? Gaiden shows that yes, they absolutely can and 8 is already looking to show that they aren't holding back, proving to cement this already legendary series into a status that goes beyond that. Arguably this era began with Judgment/Y:LAD with the shifts they made but either way...
The Dragon of Dojima's leash has been loosened, he has a prolonged sense of freedom he has missed and I cannot wait to see what is in store for him and the koi who became his own dragon.